We are able to reduce the average process bias in a patterned reticle by treating the developed, patterned photoresist which is used to transfer a pattern to the reticle with a silicon-containing reagent prior to the pattern transfer. The process bias is a measure of the difference between a nominal feature critical dimension (CD) produced in a patterned reticle and the nominal isofocal CD for the feature. Improvement of the average process bias is directly related to an improved resolution in the mask features. The reduction in average process bias achievable using the method of the invention typically ranges from about 30% to about 70%. This reduction in average process bias enables the printing of smaller features.